Usually, deleting bookmarks off Google Chrome isn’t particularly complicated. However, sometimes they keep coming back when you don’t want them to. Having a bunch of old bookmarks in your browser that you don’t want there anymore is annoying, as it clogs up your visible bookmark spaces.
This begs the question, how do you stop deleted Chrome bookmarks from coming back?
The most common solution from stopping bookmarks from reappearing is to reset Chrome Sync. To do this, first back up your data. Then, head into your Google Chrome settings by clicking the three little dots at the top right. Then, head into Sync and Google Devices. Click Sync and Google Services, then Review your synced data. After this, scroll down until you find the reset button.
Now you know the most common solution to solving this issue regarding Chrome bookmarks. However, if this doesn’t work for you, or if you’re looking to do this on your mobile, keep reading.
How To Stop Deleted Chrome Bookmarks From Coming Back
Let’s first go over all the possible solutions to this problem. Whether you’re on a phone or a PC, one of these should definitely work for you.
Reset Google Sync
As I mentioned briefly before, resetting Google Sync is a good way to fix your bookmarks not disappearing after deletion. First, back up your data. To back up your data, follow the steps below.
- Copy and paste this into your browser window:
chrome://bookmarks/
- In the Bookmark window, click on the three dots at the top right and select Export bookmarks
- Head to https://chrome.google.com/sync
- Scroll down until you find the Reset Sync button and press it
- Clear any existing bookmarks
- Log out from your Gmail account and check for more non-deleted bookmarks, then delete them
- Log in again, and check if any bookmarks are there
To reset sync on your phone, follow the steps below. Remember to back up your data on your phone as well.
- Head into your Google Chrome settings by clicking the three little dots at the top right
- Head into Manage Sync
- Find Data From Chrome Sync
- Finally, find the reset button and press it
Turn Off Extensions
Chrome extensions are great, for the most part. In some cases, however, they interfere with Chromes processes and cause bugs and errors. That’s why you should try to turn your extensions off, to see if this fixes your problem.
Don’t worry, you can disable extensions without having to delete them. To do this, follow the steps below.
- Head to chrome://extensions/
- Disable extensions pertaining to bookmarks
I would actually recommend that you turn off all of the extensions you have, just to be sure that there aren’t any problems with any of your bookmarks.
Reinstall Chrome
You can also try reinstalling Chrome, after backing up your data. This should fix the bookmark bug, although it is a bit tiresome to perform.
As I mentioned, first back up your data. Head to the settings by clicking the three little dots at the top right, then go to autofill. There, you can export things you want to save. For example, to export your passwords from this menu, click the three dots under Show and select Export passwords…
Also, export and save your wanted bookmarks by going to chrome://bookmarks/ then clicking the three dots in that window’s top right corner. After that, press Export bookmarks.
After you’ve done this, go to the Google dashboard. From here, you can stop Sync and delete your data from the servers of Google. After doing this, be patient and wait for 10 minutes.
When you have waited for 10 minutes, uninstall Chrome from your computer. This way, Google won’t have any saved information on you, on your computer, or on their servers.
Then, restart your computer. Re-install Chrome and sign in, then turn on sync. To re-sync, follow the steps below.
- Open Chrome
- At the top right of the browser window, click Profile
- Sign in
- To sync your info, click Turn on sync then Turn on.
Now, you want to import that backed-up information to Chrome again. For passwords as an example, head to Google’s Password Manager and click the cogwheel. Here, you can choose to upload saved passwords.
Of course, you can also import other information that you backed up. You might need to do a little research on this, as the how-to depends on what you’re looking to import.
Switch Browser
Finally, if none of the above solutions worked for you, then I would consider switching browsers. I personally prefer Firefox as it uses less RAM and has a nice UI.
I realize that this isn’t the optimal solution to the problem, but it is a solution nonetheless. In my opinion, browsers are a matter of habit. You will get used to other browsers after using them for a little while.
Does Clearing Data Remove Bookmarks?
Something people usually try when they can’t get rid of their bookmarks is to clear data from Chrome. The question is, does this really work?
The answer to that is: no. This goes for both clearing your browser history and your cache. Cached information is there to load pages faster when you’ve been to them before. Clearing this won’t do anything regarding your bookmarks.
This is a typically good thing because you will want to clear your cache and not necessarily delete your bookmarks. If you use the Clear browsing data option, you will clear things such as cookies, site information, site settings, and more.
Is Clearing Data Harmful?
If you have cleared data in hopes of solving your bookmark issue, then you might be wondering if it somehow can be harmful to your computer. The answer to this is probably not. In fact, it’s very healthy for your user experience to clear data now and then.
If browser data isn’t cleared from time to time, it may result in old pages showing when you don’t want them to (this goes for things such as forms). Also, you may experience an upgrade in performance if you clear your data if you haven’t done so in a long time.